More than 22 million people filed for unemployment in one month

glegorly/iStock(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The good news: unemployment claims last week were down from the week before.  Nonetheless, some 5,245,000 people filed for unemployment in the week ending April 11, according to new figures this morning from the U.S. Department of Labor. 

That brings to over 22 million the number of American workers who filed for unemployment in the last four weeks, a direct consequence of businesses being shuttered and employees furloughed as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. 

The weekly numbers, all of which were subsequently revised up by anywhere from 2,000 to 9,000 claims following their initial announcement, mean that the U.S. unemployment rate will hit 15 percent in April, according to an estimate by economists at Bank of America.  That’s significantly higher than the high of 10 percent seen during the Great Recession. 

It also means that all of the job gains since the Great Recession ended in June 2009 have been wiped out in a month.

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